How to Make Gel Wax Melts at Home
Discover the art of creating gel wax melts at home! Learn how to make long-lasting jelly wax melts that offer a unique twist on traditional solid wax. Perfect for adding a personal touch to your home fragrance experience.
If you like making DIY stuff and challenging yourself to bring that creative side of yours, then you can try to make these gel wax melts. Despite all the scary things you probably heard about using gel wax with this simple guide you'll learn how to make gel wax melts. These gel wax melts are far more better aesthetically but can be used instead of scented candles especially if you want to get well-scented air and other numerous reasons.
Why Make Gel Wax Melts?
Long-lasting: Solid wax melts melt really fast than gel wax melts. Solid wax melts from plant based sources such as candelilla wax, melt even faster than beeswax. Gel wax is synthetically made from resin and mineral oil. This makes gel wax melt slower releasing scent for longer time than solid wax melts.
More aesthetically pleasing: Gel wax melts are very pleasant to the eyes due to their transparent jelly-like look. You can also create gel wax embeds and be creative and have fun playing around with colors to make assorted range of colored gel wax melts. Using silicone molds with intricate design can make gel wax melts.
Holds scents: Gel wax can hold scent for much longer and release it as it melts. Solid wax melts are not good at hold scent as much. These gel wax melts are therefore more fragrant than solid wax melts.
Making Gel Wax Melts
It is more easier to make gel wax melts when you have few ingredients at hand like fragrance oils, essential oils, gel wax and designated silicone molds to make beautiful designed gel wax melts. Now let's make gel wax melts.
Selecting Ingredients
Gel wax: Gel wax is synthetically made from mineral oil and resin or another gelling agent. It has this transparent, clear and rubbery texture. Its slow melting wax that should be slowly melted. Gel wax has these jelly-like look that can be good to look at. It is non-sooty when burned and can hold more fragrance.
Liquid dyes: When it comes to working with gel wax it can get a little tricky using dyes in your recipes whether its gel candles or wax melts. Powder form dyes don't really mix well with gel wax so it is always a good idea to use liquid dyes to make colorful gel wax melts since they can easily mix and in fact you don't need much dye, just few drops will go a long way.
Fragrance oil and essential oil: You can use essential oil or essential oil blends that can make your wax melts more fragrant. If you care less about artificial fragrances then find favorite fragrance oils or fragrance oils blend that can suit your desires or creativity. You can take inspiration from notes from your perfume or perfume notes you like. You can make the fragrances more stronger or more subtle by adjusting the percentage up to 10 percent of your gel wax melt composition.
Rubbing alcohol: This Isopropyl alcohol is simply spritzed on the silicone mold cavities or ice cube tray that can avoid breaking or chipping your gel wax melts. This can make popping out your gel wax melts more easier than ever!
Ingredients
1 block of gel wax (250 grams)
5 to 10 drops of liquid dye
15 to 25 drops of fragrance oils or essential oil/essential oil blends
rubbing alcohol
Apart from getting these ingredients, you have to get silicone mold with the design you prefer, weighing scale, double boiler or heatproof beaker, kitchen thermometer, mixing bowl, saucepan, spatula or wooden spoon. You can use your ice cube tray if you don't have the silicone mold.
Instructions
Prepare your utensils on a clean and tidy space with ventilated air. Weigh in your gel wax block and dice your block into small chunks that can be easily melted.
Transfer the gel wax small chunks to a heatproof beaker. Place the beaker in a saucepan with few inches of water to create a water bath. Use a double boiler instead for easier process.
Set on the stove top on low heat. Put your saucepan on stove top and wait till the gel wax is completely melted. When the temperature of 200 to 210 Fahrenheit, checking with the kitchen thermometer. Make sure to melt it slowly and don't hasten the process. This type of wax take more time to melt than your beeswax, paraffin wax or soy wax.
Meanwhile prepare your silicone mold or ice cube tray by spritzing rubbing alcohol on the cavities of the silicone mold or ice cube tray and leave it aside just yet..
Add your liquid dye in the melted gel wax and stir till the color is uniformly distributed.
When the temperature is around 193 to 195 Fahrenheit add your favorite essential oil or fragrance oil. You can add up to ten percent of the fragrance oil. If you prefer less stronger scent then you can reduce the percentage to suit your scent preference. Mix till the fragrance oil is completely combined in the melted gel wax.
Cool your melted wax to 190 Fahrenheit, check the temperature with your thermometer. Pour your melted wax slowly into the silicone mold to avoid air bubbles to be trapped in the wax melts. Tap the mold on the bench to remove any remaining bubbles. Air bubbles are likely to show in transparent gel wax and ruin your design.
Allow your gel wax melts to cool for 12 hours and gently remove them from their silicone mold or ice cube tray. Be careful to not chip your wax melts while removing them.
Cure the gel wax melts for about 10 to 14 days for the fragrance to get stronger in the wax melts.
Your transparent wax melts are ready for use. Set your light bulb wax warmer, place them on the tray and let the wax melt as you enjoy the scent!
QUICK TIP: You can use dried flower petals and aromatic leaves as embeds to make your gel wax stand out!
About me
Hello, my dear gorgeous! Welcome to my blog and learn with me as you walk in your skincare journey. I'm skincare enthusiast and a student. I like sharing my passion of beauty and skincare with the world. I like blogging, reading and binge watching YouTube vlogs and Netflix during my leisure time.
